Jobdango and the art of chalk advertising

Jobdango, the Portland online job site, advertises on buses, in movie theaters and on local television stations.

But the 6-year-old upstart has found itself in some hot water for a series of chalk advertisements that it placed on city streets in its hometown last fall.

The City of Portland is suing the Internet company for $5,446, the cost to clean up the chalk drawings from a marketing campaign last September, according to The Oregonian. (The Big Blog notes that the company chalked up city streets in Bellevue and Seattle last summer.)

“Chalk is not as easy to dispose of as people think,” Marsha Dennis, who directs the Portland graffiti abatement department, tells the Oregonian. “While you’re waiting for it to rain, it looks messier and messier and messier.”

Internet companies never seem to be short on PR gimmicks. Maybe chalk graffiti is one that should be removed from the marketing playbook.